How important are accents in written Spanish?

Question

#EnglishI notice that native Spanish speakers often leave off accents in writing. Outside the context of edited material, it almost seems like accent pedantry is the sign of someone who has learned Spanish as a second language or has their spell-checker properly configured.Do native Spanish speakers appreciate properly-placed accents in writing or does it not matter much? (Which is to say, should I spend my time looking up accents or am I wasting my time?)---#EspañolMe doy cuenta de que los hablantes nativos de español a menudo se dejan los acentos al escribir. Fuera del contexto de material editado, casi parece que la pedantería para poner acentos es el signo de uno que ha aprendido español como segundo idioma o tiene su corrector ortográfico configurado correctamente.¿Aprecian los hablantes nativos de español los acentos correctamente colocados al escribir o no importa mucho? (Quiero decir, ¿debería emplear tiempo buscando acentos o estoy perdiendo el tiempo?

Answer 1

Accents are super important in Spanish. It can change the meaning and tense of a word. For example, saying mamá is different than saying mama. Or saying papá (father) is different than saying papa (potatoes). It's basically telling you how to pronounce the word, as well. By seeing where the accent is, you know what syllable to stress. For example, "Él (he- if you don't put the accent, it's just 'el' and that would be a definate article: the) lo compró ayer." By using the accent on the o in "compró", you are stating it happened in the past, converting it into a past tense verb. So, accents are extremely important, which sometimes native speakers take for granted and don't include in their texts.

Answer 2

El acento

El acento escrito es importante porque:

Facilita la lectura.

Hace la diferencia en las palabras que se escriben igual.

Da énfasis.

Ejemplos:

el - the

él - he

papa - pope

papá - father